Underoath 'Survive Kaleidoscope' album

Underoath will release their first-ever live CD and concert DVD SURVIVE, KALEIDOSCOPE May 27 on Tooth & Nail/Solid State. Recorded during the group’s fall headlining U.S. trek at numerous tour stops and mixed by Beau Burchell, guitarist for Saosin, the 12-song live CD portion and features nine tracks from Underoath’s gold-certified breakthrough album Define The Great Line as well as “A Boy Brushed Red Living in Black and White,” “It’s A Dangerous Business Just Walking Out Your Front Door” and “Young And Aspiring”--all off of the group’s They’re Only Chasing Safety disc.

The 65-minute live DVD concert film--shot in its entirety at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, PA--is presented in 16:9 widescreen and offers fans a glimpse at Underoath’s unique stage and lighting set up for an ambient visual and audio one-time-only concert experience. The DVD--which features 14 tracks back-to-back--was shot by Art & Industry and edited by Ryan Gardner of the Audible Diversion Group. The audio was mixed by producer Adam Dutkiewicz, guitarist for Killswitch Engage.

“The footage on the live DVD came out far above our expectations, and Adam and Beau outdid themselves in the audio department,” says Underoath guitarist TIM MCTAGUE.

The acclaimed hard rock group are renowned worldwide for their cathartic and frenzied live performances, as underlined by SURVIVE, KALEIDOSCOPE. Revolver magazine has noted that "Underoath have become one of the most punishing metalcore powerhouses around and--in the pouring rain--they delivered an astonishingly brutal set that proved them worthy of the buzz surrounding them." Metro Times (Detroit, MI) weighed in by saying, “While Define the Great Line added melody and dynamics without sacrificing the intensity of the sextet’s metal-hardcore hybrid, nothing, compares to the band’s writhing live performances.” Elsewhere, as noted in the Providence Journal, “Underoath were the headliners; with punishing bass and drums, crunching guitar and a horror-movie tinge to singer Spencer Chamberlain’s delivery that all give the religious themes of the lyrics universal appeal.” Creative Loafing (Atlanta, GA) summed it up in one word: “incendiary.”

Underoath has announced a special pre-order of SURVIVE, KALEIDOSCOPE at a discounted price through their new merchandising store which is run by the Audible Diversion Group. Special pre-order packages include a custom Underoath t-shirt designed by artist Justin Nelson (Verdure Studio) and a limited quantity of packages with posters autographed by the band are available until supplies last. To go directly to the pre-order, click on: www.Underoathmerch.com.

The Audible Diversion Group--a merchandising and film company formed by Tim McTague of Underoath, Jay Vilardi guitarist for The Almost and filmmaker Ryan Gardner--has now taken over the webstores for Underoath and The Almost. Visit: www.Underoath777.com and www.thealmost.com to see the revamped web stores for each band.

Underoath--lead vocalist SPENCER CHAMBERLAIN, guitarist TIM MCTAGUE, bassist GRANT BRANDELL, drummer AARON GILLESPIE, keyboardist CHRISTOPHER DUDLEY and guitarist JAMES SMITH--have solidly built their fan base from incessant touring and their unrelentingly intense live shows, establishing an unbreakable bond with their fans. The combined sales of their three albums are over one million copies.

Underoath will headline the Hot Topic stage on this summer’s Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour, joining Slipknot, Disturbed, Mastodon, Dragonforce, Machine Head and many others. The Mayhem Fest launches July 9 in Seattle, WA and wraps August 19 in Buffalo, NY and includes stops near Los Angeles on July 13 in San Bernardino, CA and in Uniondale, NY on August 3. For more info, visit: www.mayhemfest.com.

Currently working on the follow-up to DEFINE THE GREAT LINE, the FL-based sextet will release their as-yet-untitled fourth disc on September 2.

tour dates
Rockstar Energy Mayhem tour
Wed 7/9 Seattle, WA White River Amphitheatre
Fri 7/11 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Sat 7/12 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sun 7/13 San Bernardino, CA Glen Helen Pavilion
Tue 7/15 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Wed 7/16 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheatre
Fri 7/18 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
Sat 7/19 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
Sun 7/20 Denver, CO Coors Amphitheatre
Tue 7/22 Kansas City, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Wed 7/23 St. Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Fri 7/25 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Center
Sat 7/26 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Sun 7/27 Houston, TX Sam Houston Race Park
Tue 7/29 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
Wed 7/30 W. Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheater
Fri 8/1 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless
Sat 8/2 Pittsburgh, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion
Sun 8/3 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
Tue 8/5 Boston, MA Tweeter Center for Performing Arts
Wed 8/6 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion
Fri 8/8 Toronto, ON Downsview Park
Sat 8/9 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sun 8/10 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Tue 8/12 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre
Wed 8/13 Indianapolis, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
Fri 8/15 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
Sat 8/16 Hartford, CT New England Dodge Music Center
Sun 8/17 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion
Tue 8/19 Buffalo, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

biography
Very rarely does a monumental record find itself matched with the promise of commercial success. But the strength, intensity and explosive lure of DEFINE THE GREAT LINE-Underoath's follow up to its over 350,000 selling 2004 breakthrough They're Only Chasing Safety--is undeniable.

"We went into the studio wanting to make this record count," says guitarist TIM MCTAGUE. "We wanted to make it life-changing for the people who heard it. We knew it had the potential to do well, but we weren't basing our future on that. We feel we've written the best album that any of us will probably ever be a part of and above all else, we're super proud of it."

Crafted with the help of Atlanta-based producer/drummer Matt Goldman-who helped pour the rhythmic foundation-and Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz-who lent his experience to help capture the guitars and vocals and encouraged these Warped Tour veterans to use E-bows, reel bows and experiment with delays and effects pedals-the resulting DEFINE THE GREAT LINE is a mind-blowing song-cycle that resets the notion of what hardcore, screamo or whatever you want to call it, can be.

"We didn't want to take the normal approach, with just two guitar tracks, drum tracks, vocal tracks or whatever," MCTAGUE explains. "We really made an effort to expand in our minds about what Underoath could do." To which founding kitman AARON GILLESPIE adds, "We couldn't be happier. When I look back on the time we spent on this album, I don't think we would have done anything different."

If "A Moment Suspended In Time" is the most direct, heartfelt musical assault since At The Drive-In's "One Armed Scissor"-replete with explosive drumming and the inexplicably delightful amalgam of mayhem and melody-the Florida-based sextet's depth and ability is no doubt bolstered by its higher calling.

"I feel like I want people to know we're a Christian band," vocalist SPENCER CHAMBERLAIN says of Underoath's collective devotion. "But at the same time I don't like tacking God or the fact that we're Christian onto something to sell more records. I don't want just to be marketed as a Christian band because I think we go beyond that. Tags can be limiting."

"For us it's a fear of stereotype," GILLESPIE explains. "Like, 'You're Christian, so you can't be my friend.' I mean, Jesus was at lunch with whores and hookers! Still, our Christianity defines who we are."
And for Underoath-which also counts keyboardist CHRIS DUDLEY, bassist GRANT BRANDELL and guitarist JAMES SMITH-there's a purpose in the music, be it the cathartic, introspective "You're Ever So Inviting" or the intoxicatingly forceful "In Regards To Myself." The latter opens the album with equal parts conviction and commotion, and boasts Spencer's bloodcurdling inquiry, "What are you so afraid of?" only to be countered by a stunning, turn-on-a-dime harmony.

"With this record I just wrote about myself and my life," CHAMBERLAIN says proudly. "On They're Only Chasing Safety, I wrote about scenarios because I had only recently joined the band and I was still adapting to the situation. This time there were no limitations and I'm writing about the stuff that I know and feel strongly about. And because I'm emotionally invested in it, I think it just feels right." A listen to the deeply personal, "There Could Be Nothing After This," an inventive, experimental blast of guitars and inner searching affirms this sentiment.

"Our last record was like, ten songs on a CD," TIM says. "And you could go and listen to each song individually to decide what you like or you don't. But this is the first time we composed an album. In the past it was just the ten or so songs we wrote in a garage and recorded and eventually some kids bought it. This time we knew we didn't want to regurgitate anything. It had to be cohesive."

If the stakes felt high after the group became Solid State's best selling band, the men of Underoath kept their focus and avoided the stresses that have sabotaged so many follow up discs. "Pressure is only there if you buy into it," AARON says. "As long as we were going where we wanted to go and we were making it unique, that's all that mattered."

Or as TIM succinctly puts it, "We don't need to pump out ten singles for an album. We're not Fall Out Boy. Those bands are great for what they are but that's not what we're aspiring to be at all."

"We wanted to provoke a lot of thought lyrically and musically," MCTAGUE continues. "We didn't want it to be a record that you put in and you're instantly hooked because those records fall off. Catchy hooks seem cool for about a week, but then--when you're sick of it, you realize there is no substance. You can throw the record away. We'd rather be a band like Refused, At The Drive-In or Glassjaw, where you listen to it and you like it but you don't really get it immediately. But you keep listening to it and all the little pieces come into focus."

As for clarity regarding the disc's title, SPENCER says, "I liked how broad it is. DEFINE THE GREAT LINE can be interpreted so many different ways. When we all started in our various bands we were a bunch of 18-year-old kids. Over the last two years I've watched us grow into the kind of men we're going to be. To me it's the way I feel. It's the way God has called me to be. It's just an imaginary line that I try to balance myself on to be the best person I can be. I've made tons of mistakes and I'm just an idiot kid sometimes and it may take me my entire life to be the person that I aspire to be, but that's my goal: To be the best kind of dude I can be."

And if it's that spirit that sets Underoath's fierce, foot-stomping metallic drive (see "Returning Empty Handed") apart from its peers, perhaps MCTAGUE puts it best when he talks about the real rewards of being in one of the biggest genre- defining bands today. "For me, the kids that we meet at shows who come up to us and tell us, 'I was going to kill myself and then I heard this song of yours that changed my life around spiritually.' Or even the one who said, 'I had no one to turn to when my parents divorced, but your record got me through it.' That's what it's all about for me. That's what makes us more than just some crappy rock band."

Message received. DEFINE THE GREAT LINE is indeed one of 2006's defining musical moments.

who is who
Aaron Gillespie-Drums/Vocals
Tim McTague-Guitar
Chris Dudley-Keyboards
Grant Brandell-Bass
James Smith-Guitar
Spencer Chamberlain-Vocals

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Underoath - Survive Kaleidoscope